What is the problem/issue being addressed?
Endometriosis is a chronic disease of poorly understood pathomechanism and highly limited diagnostic techniques. It is characterised by the growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity affecting 6-10% of childbearing-aged women. The invasive laparoscopic surgery can provide a definitive diagnosis of endometriosis though causes a significant delay in the recognition and management of the disease. Therefore, in collaboration with clinicians, we recruited patients to participate in this study. The participants contributed to the collection of blood, urine, and high vaginal swab samples during their laparoscopic surgery. Blood and urine as minimally or non-invasive sample sources are ideal candidates for the development of new diagnostic methods. In the first year of the Glycomendo project, glycome characterization of urine of endometriosis patients was performed. As part of this work, we developed a new protocol for the pre-processing of urine samples and then characterized the glycan composition of the urine by mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Why is it important for society?
Despite the prevalence of endometriosis, the aetiology of the disease is still poorly understood. In addition, endometriosis causes fertility problems and reduced quality of life and this enigmatic disease also has a serious economic cost. Direct healthcare costs for women with endometriosis are more than twice as high as women without the disease. A future minimally or non-invasive diagnostic technique would allow for an earlier diagnosis of endometriosis. This could reduce patients’ hospitalization costs and time, which is also beneficial for the economic burden, and would improve patients' well-being.
What are the overall objectives?
The purpose of the Glycomendo project is to identify diagnostic candidates that could replace invasive laparoscopic surgery with non-invasive diagnostic technique in the future. We also would like to draw society's attention to this little-known disease, which affects many women so that those concerned can receive appropriate medical care as soon as possible.
